Christmas Events for Kids in Boca Raton (2026)

Christmas Events for Kids
Written by Kelsey Cecil

Updated 3 min read

Rally the corgi has sniffed out the Christmas events for kids in Boca Raton for 2026. The 54th Annual Holiday Street Parade rolls on Wednesday, December 2, the Children’s Science Explorium hosts Winter Wonderland at the Chickee on December 22, and Sugar Sand Park throws the Jolly Jamboree on December 26. We check every date on the host’s own website and link straight there. For the rest of the state, see our Florida Christmas events for kids guide.

What Rally found in Boca Raton

  • 3 Christmas events for kids in Boca Raton
  • Holiday Street Parade: Wednesday, December 2, 7:30 to 9 pm, free
  • Winter Wonderland at the Chickee: Tuesday, December 22, ages 5 to 12
  • Jolly Jamboree: Saturday, December 26, 11 am to 2 pm, Sugar Sand Park
  • Parade route: changing in 2026 because of Federal Highway road work

Free 1Ticketed and paid 2

Free Christmas events for kids in Boca Raton

Holiday paradeFree

54th Annual Holiday Street Parade

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Boca Raton rolls out more than 60 floats, marching bands and dance groups for its 54th Annual Holiday Street Parade, and the 2026 theme is Boca by the Beach.

The city expects route changes this year because of FDOT road work on Federal Highway, so check the parade page for the final route before you pick a viewing spot.

Parent tip: Spectators must stay behind the barricades, and the road reopens right after street sweepers pass, so wait on the sidewalk until crews are done.

Host
City of Boca Raton Recreation Services (opens in a new tab)
Address
Downtown Boca Raton parade route, Boca Raton, FL 33432 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom City of Boca Raton Recreation Services (opens in a new tab)

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Rally’s Christmas research

Rally the corgi has 2 more Boca Raton events researched for you.

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Ticketed and paid Christmas events for kids in Boca Raton

Admission, tickets or a fee apply. Where a host has not posted a price yet, the listing says so.

Event hosts: free events are listed first. The #1 spot puts your event at the top of this page.Inquire about the #1 spotAdd your event for free

Kids holiday craft night

Winter Wonderland at the Chickee

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The Children's Science Explorium dresses up its Chickee Lab for a winter evening with sparkling decorations, a hot cocoa bar and seasonal treats.

Kids make nature-inspired holiday crafts during one-hour sessions at 3:30 or 5 pm, and each ticket covers one child and one adult.

Parent tip: Pre-registration is required and unregistered siblings cannot join, so sign up every child who plans to craft.

Host
City of Boca Raton Children's Science Explorium (opens in a new tab)
Address
Children's Science Explorium, Chickee Lab, 300 South Military Trail, Boca Raton, FL 33486 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom City of Boca Raton Children's Science Explorium (opens in a new tab)

New Boca Raton events every week

Rally researches Christmas events in Boca Raton daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Boca Raton.

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Holiday family day

Jolly Jamboree Holiday Fun-tacular

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The day after Christmas, Sugar Sand Park Community Center fills its rooms with seasonal activities and entertainment for the Jolly Jamboree.

One ticket gives a child all-access admission to everything spread around the building, which makes it an easy way to burn off holiday energy.

Parent tip: Tickets are only sold at the Sugar Sand Park front desk that day, and activity lines close before 2 pm, so arrive near the start.

Host
City of Boca Raton Recreation Services (opens in a new tab)
Address
Sugar Sand Park Community Center, 300 S Military Trail, Boca Raton, FL 33486 (opens in maps)
Confirmed
On the host’s page, checked
See dates and detailsfrom City of Boca Raton Recreation Services (opens in a new tab)

New Boca Raton events every week

Rally researches Christmas events in Boca Raton daily and updates this page with new events. Enter your email to get a weekly update with new events in Boca Raton.

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We check every event above on the host’s own page for the date, time and cost, plus the things parents ask about, like sign-ups and ages. Looking for a Santa train instead? Those are on our Florida Christmas train rides page.

See every event on a December calendar

Plan your December

When each Boca Raton Christmas event for kids happens

Catch the parade on December 2, then save the Explorium craft night and the Jolly Jamboree for the school break after December 21.

Looking further afield? Our Florida Christmas events for kids guide lists every confirmed event in the state, and we have city guides for Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Boynton Beach and Coral Springs. The national search sorts every event by distance from your town.

A story for the drive home

A morning with Santa or an evening of holiday stories tends to end the same way: tired kids, a long drive and one more book before bed. Our picture book follows Rally the corgi on his first train ride to see his grand-paw-rents, and every page is painted by hand. If your family is spending December missing someone, it was written for that too. For the car, print our free corgi and train coloring pages.

Rally Takes the Train book cover: a watercolor corgi peeking from a red train

A bedtime story after seeing SantaRally Takes the Train is a five-minute rhyming picture book about a corgi’s first ride on a California train, hand-painted in watercolor. $16.99 on Amazon, ages 0 to 8.

Buy on Amazon (opens in a new tab)

The story of Christmas in Boca Raton

Boca Raton's Historical Society has released a new hand-painted Christmas ornament in most years since 1998, each one showing a local landmark, from a camel crossing Dixie Highway to the Boca Express. In 2025, the city's 100th year, its night-time holiday parade rolled up Federal Highway as the Centennial Express.

A Wednesday night parade up Federal Highway, with 70 floats in 2019's 'Out of This World'

Boca Raton's Holiday Street Parade is a weeknight tradition that local guides trace back to 1970. Instead of a Saturday morning, it rolls after dark, with lit floats, marching bands and dance groups heading north on Federal Highway from SE 5th Street to the Mizner Park Amphitheater, about a mile in all and roughly two hours from start to finish.

The 2019 parade, on December 11, was the 49th. Its theme was Out of This World, and about 70 floats and groups took part. For 2026, the 54th Annual Holiday Street Parade is Wednesday, December 2, from 7:30 to 9 pm, with the theme Boca by the Beach. The city expects route changes because of state road work on Federal Highway, and the Boca Holiday Mile Run with the Police Athletic League will not be held this year.

50,000 LED lights at Mizner Park and the Centennial Express parade of 2025

Boca Raton turned 100 in 2025, and the holiday season was the finale of its centennial year. On Saturday, November 22, Mayor Scott Singer led the tree lighting at the Mizner Park Amphitheater at 7:15 pm, switching on the city tree and Mizner Park's 50,000 LED lights. There were artificial snow flurries, costumed characters, a holiday market and Santa posing for photos from 6 to 9 pm. "Come for the lights, stay for the memories," the mayor said.

The 53rd Holiday Street Parade, on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, was themed The Centennial Express: 100 Years of Holiday Cheer. The city's second Holiday POPS concert followed on December 6, with The Symphonia under conductor Jacomo Bairos and the Florida Atlantic University Chorus, then a free Tuba Christmas concert on December 7 and a Holiday Night Market in Sanborn Square on December 11.

Hand-painted ornaments since 1998, from Old Town Hall to a camel on Dixie Highway

Most holiday seasons, the Boca Raton Historical Society sells a commemorative Christmas ornament, and local artist Barbara Montgomery O'Connell has painted every one since the series began in 1998. The first showed Old Town Hall. Later ornaments honored the Boca Express in 2001, the Singing Pines in 2005, the first schoolhouse in 2008, a camel crossing Dixie Highway in 2018, Mizner Park in 2020, the Old Inlet Bridge in 2022, the Yamato Colony in 2023 and Mizner's Dream in 2025.

The 2026 ornament celebrates the coming 100th birthday of Historic Town Hall, which held its first council meeting in March 1927. Only 127 were made, at $29 in a gift box, with Town Hall's gold dome painted on the back. Families can see the full collection at the museum, 71 N. Federal Highway, along the same road the parade follows.

The Boca Express on a 2001 ornament and Henry Flagler's railcar 30 miles north

Trains have long been part of Boca Raton's Christmas story. The Historical Society chose the Boca Express for its 2001 ornament, and in 2025 the city gave its holiday parade a railroad name, The Centennial Express. For a real Christmas train outing, families head north to Palm Beach and the Flagler Museum, Henry Flagler's 1902 Whitehall mansion, where kids can see his private Railcar No. 91. Flagler was the man behind the Florida East Coast Railway.

The museum starts its seasonal Gilded Age style Tea Service the day after Thanksgiving and posts a holiday calendar each year, and it is closed on Christmas Day. Back in Boca, the Winter Wonderland at the Chickee at the Children's Science Explorium on December 22 and the Jolly Jamboree at Sugar Sand Park on December 26 fill the days around Christmas.

  • Flagler Museum: Henry Flagler's 1902 Whitehall mansion in Palm Beach, with his private Railcar No. 91 and a holiday Tea Service from the day after Thanksgiving.

Traditions today

  • Holiday Street Parade: An evening parade of lit floats north on Federal Highway to Mizner Park, held since about 1970. The 54th is December 2, 2026.
  • Holiday Tree Lighting at Mizner Park: The city tree and Mizner Park's LED lights switch on in late November, with free Santa photos. In 2026 it is Saturday, November 21.
  • Historical Society ornament: A hand-painted Christmas ornament of a Boca landmark, made almost every year since 1998 by Barbara Montgomery O'Connell.
  • Tuba Christmas: A free concert of carols played by a crowd of tubas at the Mizner Park Amphitheater in early December.
  • Merry in Mizner: Carolers, performances and pop-ups at Mizner Park through December.

A fact for kids

One of Boca Raton's Christmas ornaments has a camel on it. The 2018 ornament shows a real camel crossing Dixie Highway, painted by hand by a local artist.

Questions about Christmas in Boca Raton

When did the Boca Raton Holiday Street Parade start?

Local guides call the Holiday Street Parade a Boca Raton tradition since 1970. The 2019 parade was the 49th, the 2025 parade was the 53rd and the 2026 parade on December 2 is the 54th. Each year it ends with lit floats arriving at the Mizner Park Amphitheater.

Why is the Boca Raton holiday parade on a Wednesday night?

Boca Raton holds its Holiday Street Parade on a weeknight evening so the lit floats show up against the dark. Recent parades were Wednesday, December 11, 2019, Wednesday, December 3, 2025, and Wednesday, December 2, 2026, from 7:30 to 9 pm. Come early, since Federal Highway closes and barricades go up before the start.

What is the 2026 Boca Raton holiday parade theme?

The 2026 theme is Boca by the Beach. The 54th Annual Holiday Street Parade on Wednesday, December 2, from 7:30 to 9 pm, will feature decorated floats, community groups, dancing, lights and music. The city warns that the route may change this year because of Florida Department of Transportation road work on Federal Highway.

What was the theme of the 2025 Boca Raton holiday parade?

The 53rd Holiday Street Parade, on December 3, 2025, was themed The Centennial Express: 100 Years of Holiday Cheer, because Boca Raton was celebrating its 100th year. It ran from 7:30 to 9 pm, starting at Federal Highway and SE 5th Street and heading north to the Mizner Park Amphitheater.

How many floats are in the Boca Raton holiday parade?

In 2019, the 49th Holiday Street Parade, themed Out of This World, had about 70 floats and participating groups, and the city's 2026 guide describes more than 60 floats, marching bands and dance groups. The one-mile route along Federal Highway takes about two hours for the whole Christmas parade to pass.

Where does the Boca Raton holiday parade end?

The parade usually starts at Federal Highway and SE 5th Street and travels north about a mile to the Mizner Park Amphitheater, where the city tree stands lit for the holidays. In 2026, the city expects route changes because of road work, so check myboca.us for the final map before parade night.

Is there a Boca Holiday Mile Run in 2026?

No. The Boca Holiday Mile Run with the Boca Raton Police Athletic League, which used the holiday parade route, will not be held in 2026 because of the route changes from Federal Highway road work. The Christmas parade itself still goes ahead on Wednesday, December 2, from 7:30 to 9 pm.

When is the Boca Raton tree lighting in 2026?

The city's free Holiday Tree Lighting is Saturday, November 21, 2026, from 6 to 10 pm at the Mizner Park Amphitheater. Expect live music, an LED light display, a craft station, a holiday market and a Winter Wonderland area. Free photos with Santa run 6 to 10 pm, with a 4 by 6 print to take home.

What happened at the 2025 Boca Raton tree lighting?

On Saturday, November 22, 2025, Mayor Scott Singer lit the city tree and Mizner Park's 50,000 LED lights at 7:15 pm. The evening had live music, snow flurries, costumed characters, a holiday market and Santa photos from 6 to 9 pm. It opened the holiday finale of Boca Raton's centennial year.

Does it snow at the Boca Raton tree lighting?

Not real snow, but yes in spirit. The 2025 Holiday Tree Lighting at Mizner Park included artificial snow flurries along with costumed characters and live music, and the 2026 event includes a Winter Wonderland area. For many South Florida kids, it is the only snow they will see all Christmas.

What is the Boca Raton Historical Society Christmas ornament?

Each year the Boca Raton Historical Society sells a hand-painted commemorative ornament showing a local landmark. Artist Barbara Montgomery O'Connell has painted them since 1998. The 2026 ornament honors Historic Town Hall's coming 100th birthday, with only 127 made at $29 each. Call 561-395-6766 extension 100 to reserve one.

Which landmarks are on past Boca Raton ornaments?

The Historical Society's holiday ornaments have shown Old Town Hall (1998), the Boca Express (2001), the Singing Pines (2005), Boca Raton Road (2007), the first schoolhouse (2008), a camel over Dixie Highway (2018), Mizner Park (2020), the Cabana Club (2021), the Old Inlet Bridge (2022), the Yamato Colony (2023) and Mizner's Dream (2025).

Why is there a camel on a Boca Raton Christmas ornament?

The Boca Raton Historical Society's 2018 Christmas ornament shows a camel crossing Dixie Highway. The Society's ornament collection also remembers Africa U.S.A. among the places that shaped Boca Raton. The camel ornament is a favorite with kids, and you can see it with the rest of the collection at the museum in Historic Town Hall.

What is Tuba Christmas in Boca Raton?

Tuba Christmas is a free holiday concert where a big group of tuba players performs Christmas carols together. In 2025 it was held Sunday, December 7, at 5 pm at the Mizner Park Amphitheater, the day after the city's Holiday POPS concert. It is a fun, loud and short concert that works well for kids.

What is the Holiday POPS concert in Boca Raton?

Holiday POPS is the city's holiday orchestra concert at the Mizner Park Amphitheater. The second annual concert was Saturday, December 6, 2025, with The Symphonia conducted by Jacomo Bairos and the Florida Atlantic University Chorus. Doors opened at 6 pm, the show started at 7 pm, and tickets started at $15.

What is Merry in Mizner?

Merry in Mizner is a month of holiday fun at Mizner Park in downtown Boca Raton, with performances, carolers and pop-up events throughout December. It runs alongside the tree lighting and parade, so families can find something festive on most December evenings near the lit city tree.

Is there a holiday night market in Boca Raton?

Yes. In 2025 the city held a Holiday Night Market on Thursday, December 11, from 6 to 9 pm in Sanborn Square, a downtown park. It is a good evening to shop for small Christmas gifts and see the downtown lights. Watch the city's community events page for the 2026 date.

Is there a Christmas train near Boca Raton?

There is no regular Christmas train ride in Boca Raton itself, but trains are part of the city's holiday story: the 2025 parade was The Centennial Express, and a 2001 Historical Society ornament shows the Boca Express. For railroad history, the Flagler Museum in Palm Beach displays Henry Flagler's private Railcar No. 91 and holds a holiday Tea Service.

What does the Flagler Museum do for Christmas?

The Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, about 30 miles north of Boca Raton, starts its seasonal Gilded Age style Tea Service the day after Thanksgiving and posts a holiday events calendar. Kids can see the private Railcar No. 91 of Henry Flagler, the man behind the Florida East Coast Railway. It closes on Christmas Day.

What can kids do in Boca Raton the week of Christmas?

On December 22, 2026, the Children's Science Explorium holds Winter Wonderland at the Chickee, with a cocoa bar and crafts for ages 5 to 12. On December 26, Sugar Sand Park Community Center hosts the Jolly Jamboree for $10 a person. In between, the Mizner Park lights and Merry in Mizner pop-ups keep the holiday going downtown.

Sources

  1. Holiday Street Parade, City of Boca Raton
  2. Holiday Tree Lighting, City of Boca Raton
  3. Boca Raton celebrates a century of cheer with a dazzling lineup of holiday events, Boca Chamber
  4. 53rd Annual Holiday Street Parade: The Centennial Express, The Coastal Star
  5. Holiday Street Parade in Boca Raton: Everything You Need to Know, Royal Palm Properties
  6. The 2026 Commemorative Ornament, Boca Raton Historical Society

Keep the Christmas magic going: track Rally the corgi on Christmas Eve, print free Christmas coloring pages, learn how to say Merry Christmas in 100+ languages, find train museums to visit with kids, or browse Christmas events in every Florida city.

Boca Raton Christmas events for kids: questions parents ask

What are the best Christmas events for kids in Boca Raton this year?

Rally Takes the Train has confirmed 3 Christmas events for kids in Boca Raton for 2026, all run by the City of Boca Raton: the Holiday Street Parade on December 2, Winter Wonderland at the Chickee on December 22 and the Jolly Jamboree at Sugar Sand Park on December 26.

When is the Boca Raton Holiday Street Parade in 2026?

Wednesday, December 2, 2026, from 7:30 to 9 pm. It is the 54th annual parade and the theme is Boca by the Beach. The route is expected to change because of FDOT work on Federal Highway.

Is there a kids holiday event at the Children’s Science Explorium?

Yes. Winter Wonderland at the Chickee runs Tuesday, December 22, 2026, with sessions at 3:30 and 5 pm for ages 5 to 12. It costs $10 for residents and $12.50 for non-residents, covering one child and one adult.

How much is the Jolly Jamboree at Sugar Sand Park?

$10 per person, bought at the Sugar Sand Park Community Center front desk on Saturday, December 26, 2026. It runs 11 am to 2 pm.

Who do I contact about Boca Raton holiday events?

For the parade, email the city’s Community Events team at CommunityEvents@bocaraton-fl.gov. The Recreation Services main line is 561-393-7810.

Are there Christmas train rides for kids in Florida?

Yes. Santa trains and holiday train rides have their own guide: Rally Takes the Train’s Florida Christmas train rides page.

How do you confirm these events?

We list an event only after we find this season’s date on the host’s own website or an official city or tourism calendar. We last checked Boca Raton on November 11, 2026. Rally is also contacting each organizer to confirm details like parking, restrooms and bad-weather plans.

Event names belong to their hosts. Rally Takes the Train is a family picture book and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by any host listed here. Confirm dates, times and prices on each host’s own site before you go.

Kelsey Cecil
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